by Alex Marvez

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Michael Vick was showered with amore Thursday night in his Philadelphia Eagles debut. Not beer and batteries from drunken louts a la former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson. Not stuffed animals, as one anti-Vick faction had contemplated.

Eagles fans — a surly lot that once pelted Santa Claus with snowballs — gave Vick a Rocky Balboa-type welcome whenever he played in a 33-32 preseason win against Jacksonville. The pregame protests expected because of Vick's prior involvement in dog fighting fizzled as well.

"I didn't think it would be that positive," Vick said of the crowd reaction during his postgame news conference. "I was very pleased."

About the only thing that could have gone better was Philadelphia's performance with Vick both in and out of the huddle.

Like with Brett Favre in Minnesota, integrating Vick into the Eagles offense will take time. After spending the past two seasons out of football, Vick said he is only "70 percent" of the three-time Pro Bowl player he once was. Vick didn't start practicing with the Eagles until 12 days earlier.

"I'm getting by on natural ability," he said.

Eagles coach Andy Reid used Vick on just six snaps starting with the game's second play. Five of them came out of the shotgun formation at quarterback (starter Donovan McNabb either shifted to wide receiver or left the field altogether). Vick also lined up once as a slot receiver.

Philadelphia's longest gain with Vick in the game was a 13-yard completion to wideout Hank Baskett. The other five plays produced a paltry seven yards.

The Eagles were forced to call a timeout because of personnel confusion with Vick coming in from the sideline. Another play was nullified by penalty. Vick completed two shovel passes and one wide receiver screen and gained one yard on a keeper that he admittedly botched.

"I was trying to please the crowd," a smiling Vick said. "I tried to take off and run when I really should have passed to the running back. It was the excitement of being back out there."

Even spending the second half on the bench wearing a visor felt good for Vick, especially considering how much his life has fallen apart in the past 2 ½ years. He was in jail for 19 months after pleading to dog-fighting charges. He hadn't played in an NFL game since quarterbacking Atlanta on Dec. 31, 2006 (incidentally, that game was in Philadelphia). At one point, it seemed possible that Vick might never appear in the league again.

"It was an awesome feeling," Vick said of his NFL return.

Vick should feel good. An already potent offense will become even more dangerous once Vick shakes his rust and Philadelphia's starters correct the sloppiness displayed against the Jaguars. Without revealing too much in a contest whose outcome didn't matter, Reid showed enough of the creative packages he could use with Vick to put opposing defensive coordinators on edge.

"I sat on the sideline today and was thinking about so many different things we can do," Vick said. "It's almost scary.

Just because he's back in uniform doesn't mean all of Vick's problems have magically disappeared. Vick spent Thursday morning in a Virginia bankruptcy court finalizing plans to start repaying creditors the $20 million he owes. He will be suspended for the first five regular-season games unless NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cuts the punishment short because of good behavior. Any significant stumble could cost Vick his livelihood once again. As evidenced by a New York Post report that he was recently drinking alcohol at a hotel bar, Vick's every public move has become fair game to the media.

Vick also will soon have to deal with the taunts and insults that will be hurled from fans when the Eagles take to the road. But at least he now knows there is strong support inside his new home.

Eagles management had expected the worst. According to a police spokesman, the team requested extra security because of fears that protesters would attempt to barricade the player parking-lot entrance or roads leading into the stadium.

Such concerns proved unfounded. There were far more media members outside Lincoln Financial Field than Vick protesters or, for that matter, the NAACP-led protesters who were protesting the Vick protesters.

An hour before kickoff, the only anti-Vick commotion was caused by three grungy young women. They walked down 11th Street carrying a large white banner featuring drawings of a bloody dog and the message "Murderers are not role models."

Most Eagles fans were unmoved. Some hurled their own insults at the protesters. At one point, it became bizarro world when the trio walked past a group of three tanned babes wearing Vick jerseys who were posing for a news camera.

They weren't the only ones sporting Vick paraphernalia both old and new. Joe Valvor donned a black Eagles T-shirt with a No. 7 on the front and Vick's name on the back.

"When fans see what he can do and if he performs, he'll be accepted," said Valvor, 49. "If he doesn't, he'll get booed whether he's a felon or not."

That's what this really boils down to. Even if Vick reinvents himself as a human being through community service and less decadent behavior, what matters most to the majority of Eagles fans is how well he plays.

"I just want to do it right this time around," Vick said.

Should he do that, there will be nothing to protest.